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| Apricot blossom |
Just
like Japan is famous for Sakura (cherry blossom), our country also has
tradition flowers for New Year Festival. If the peach flower is the symbol of Lunar New Year in the north, then
the yellow apricot flower is its counterpart in the South. The yellow apricot
flower belongs to the family of hoang mai (meaning “yellow apricot” in
Chinese), which is a forest plant.
The
trunk and sprigs of the yellow apricot flower are suppler than those of the
peach plant. The flowers grow in bunches and have stalks that hang loosely near
the branches at the side of the leaves. The flowers are yellow and their scent
is modestly secretive. The leaves of the yellow apricot flower fall in the
winter. There are varieties of yellow apricot, including “mai tu qui” (apricot of all seasons)
and “nhi do mai”, which begin
to produce red coloured fruit after blossoming.
“Mai
chieu thuy”, the aquatic variety of apricot flower, have small leaves and small
flowers that blossom in white, scented bunches. Mai chieu thuy, which blossoms
in the spring, is generally planted in small rock gardens. Its trunk and
branches are trimmed and bent so that it becomes a sculptured plant.
The
apricot plant, which is planted to give flowers on the occasion of the New Year
is planted from seeds or by the grafting of branches. The plant can be planted
in gardens, in flowerbeds, or in pots. It can only bloom in the spring and when it happens, the flowers will give a pleasant aroma in the garden.
